Posted on June, 28, 2017 at 09:39 am
By Leonce Muvunyi
Every day Jean Marie Pierre Ngirumugenga, like any other farmer, worries about the welfare of his 700 pigs even as he tends to them the best way he can.
This year, however, Mr Ngirumugenga has to worry, thanks to prolonged dry conditions last year: Expensive feeds and a shortage of fodder.
"Besides the price of feeds going up, the oilseed-based meals available on the market are substandard, which considerably impacts our production, "said Mr Ngirumugenga.
The locally made oilseed meals retail at Rwf170 per kilogramme compared with the one by industrial processors which go for Rwf350/kg.
According to data from the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, the performance of the sector fell short of targeted outputs of priority crops under the third Strategic Plan for the Transformation of Agriculture period (PSTA), the five-year government programme ending by mid of 2018.
For example, the climbing beans recorded 1.48 metric tonnes per hectare on average against the projected three metric tonnes per hectare; cassava recorded 19mt/ha against expected 30mt/ha; rice 6.1mt/ha against 7mt/ha. However, maize did well with 4.1mt/ha against projected 4mt/ha.
"We are currently sourcing raw ingredients --soybean meal, shells, maize and wheat blunders -- from outside the country for making oilseed meals because there is little on the local market," said Manasseh Ndahabwa, the animal feeding nutritionist at Prodev-Rwanda Ltd.
This has led to high prices for the products. "For example, the soybean meal is sourced from India, which could double the price of production," he explained.
The farmers' worries come ahead of another dry season that runs between June and October.
Addressing the media last week, the Ministry of Agriculture said most farmers' losses and low yields emanated from poor application of inputs rather than their cost.
"We are hoping to see price reduction following the government decision to provide tax incentives to industries," said Minister Geraldine Mukeshimana.
Source: The EastAfrican